7 posts tagged “stuff”

Weekend Musts:

- Finish preparing lessons for Sunday School tomorrow.
- Complete marking: poetry and business letters.
- Take in diaper laundry drying outside.
- Sleep.
- Pray.  (Really, I'm too busy not to.)

Weekend Maybes:

- Continue to escape real life by reading Lord of the Rings (the Battle of Helm's Deep has just finished).
- Walk.
- Do more laundry.
- Make paneer.
- Enjoy the sunshine.

Weekend Lyric In My Head (in a good way)

You've got to open your heart
And disbelieve the lie.

Spit out that bitter seed.

          - Jonathan Inc.

It's Spring Break. 
I love it.
These last few weeks of work have been demanding and draining for me.  At first I just attributed it to a new semester and figured I'd find a groove.  And I have: the groove is deep, demanding and draining.  And June is the nearest end in sight. 
But this week is Spring Break.  We had a non-instructional day the Friday before.  I did my requisite professional development in the morning and then spent the afternoon cleaning, organizing and planning.  I finally discovered the colour of my desktop.  (The real desktop - not the computer one!)  I have some marking, but I'm not going to think about it until the night before I return.  This week is about family, friends and rest.  And I'm getting all 3.

We're heading to see the in-laws for the weekend, but I'm taking off to the Big City (and it's suburbs) tomorrow, a couple days earlier, with Gus to visit folks.  C.  will take the bus and catch up at the end of the week.  I get to see my sisters - including the one who has been in Australia for the last 8 months - and other friends and in some cases, their new babies.
(Got babies coming out the ears around here: I've made 3 meals in the last 8 weeks for friends with newbies.  So cute.  And have got word of 5 pregnancies from here until fall.)

So here's my list of things to do today,in no particular order, before departing tomorrow:

1. Quite procrastinating on the 'puter.
2. Get out for some exercise.
3. Make coleslaw for dinner at a friend's house tonight.  (I love beef on a bun.)
4. Laundry
5. Find phone numbers and addresses.
6. Locate city map.  (I used to live around there, but it's still nice to have.)
7. Pack.
8. Make snacks for trip.
9. Buy wine.
10. Stock CD disc changer.
11. Go to library.
12. Clean house (actually, this won't take too long - we just did a pretty good and much needed clean in anticipation of my grandparents' visit.  I love having visitors and it helps me keep the place cleaner.)

It's actually not too onerous a list, but I suppose I'd better get on it.

Cheers.
 

I'm in the middle of a battle right now.

Gus is not keen on the whole wearing clothes thing.  At least we've got his diaper on him and he keeps it on... for now.
The thing is, is that we've always said 'no breakfast before your clothes are on.'  Sometimes he's bucked it for a bit, but we've always been able to tag team it.  So once C. has tried, a few minutes later I'd just say something like "Hey Gus, bring me your pants" and - ta-dah! - we're clothed and slamming back some yogurt.
But I'm single parenting it today.  Tomorrow, too, just like yesterday.  Thank you God, it will end tomorrow.  (C. is off on their annual regional conference, which includes, among all the meetings, team building activities which often seem to happen late in the evening and look and sound an awful lot like a house party :) but I digress).
So here sits Gus, not yet eating; at first he cried, then he'd roll around on the floor with his blanket partaking in what looked like a pity party, and now he's moved on to playing with old baby toys.  We'll have to leave the house in about half an hour.  Right now, it's looking like I'll pack some extra food and he can eat at daycare.  By then, he'll have clothes on!  He'll but up a fight but I'm bigger and stronger.

I just wish it wasn't a fight.  In these last couple months as he's developed his own mind about things, we've had to pick and choose our battles.  And once that's been done, we've had to figure out how to fight the battles we've chosen.  Last months was "No, sitting on Mom's lap is not where you will eat dinner every night."  We had to try a lot of things, and today he still has 3 other options for eating dinner.  But I did not want to start the dining-on-my-lap routine.  So we fought that battle.  And now there's another one. 

I know some are probably thinking - what's the big deal?  Eat in the nude!  And yeah, I'm wondering a bit, too.  Except that we've got morning routines, and things to do, and in this climate, I can't just take him out in a diaper. *sighs*

So, pray for me, my friends.  After dealing with this soon-to-be-clad young'un, I must go off and deal with 16 year olds who often act in a similar fashion when having to do something, like, say, write a paragraph.  :)

For the second night in a row, I'm dealing with insomnia.  What a great time to catch up on some posting!  It's also prime time for typos and I won't re-read.  Forgive the tired English teacher.

Last month I finished reading "Buy, Buy Baby:

How Consumer Culture Manipulates Parents and Harms Young Minds.  Being a new mom (only been at it for 1 1/2 years) and being a person interested in stuff related to my kid, and being a person interested in stewardship and (trying) not to bow to the marketing gods (though not always succeeding), I thought I'd find this interesting.  And I was right.

Thomas is a journalist and this is apparent in her writing.  I was expecting to hear things rather slanted, but I believe she does an ok job of striving for some balance.  In fact, after completing the book, I was surprised at its subtitle: it almost struck me as something the publisher would slap on instead of something she'd come up with.  Thomas does finally lets her guard down in her conclusion and you hear what she really thinks, but by then she's laid out all sorts of info and she's made the shift clear.  You can't fault the lady for having her opinion. 

I wholeheartedly recommend this read for any parents with young'uns.  At any rate, it is educational and gives you something to consider, even if you can't turn back the clock, or even care to.

The book covers all sorts of information:

• the baby video craze (can it truly be 'educational' for a 12 month old?).
• how marketers target and yes, manipulate, Gen-X parents (who are far more likely to spend money on house and kids than their own parents were) who apparently will only buy toys that have a 'learning' component.
  
• explains the marketing brilliance behind the princess craze, Elmo, and Thomas the Train, among others.
  
• explores how marketers try for (though it's ethically dangerous territory) brand recognition in toddlers (btw - the top 5 brands recognized by kids, and some as young as 18 months, include Disney, Macdonalds, Cheerios, Barbie and Pop Tarts (!!!)).
• examines how brands have made their way into early educational childhood curricula. 
  

Thomas's conclusions certainly lead one to realize that TV isn't great for kids (sending home Baby Einstein with new moms is 'unconscionable')  and brands are no great shakes either.   Her last chapter advocates doing "Nothing" - that is, just playing, without any agenda.

At Christmastime, we made 2 requests of family members who wanted to purchase toys for Gus: please, no batteries (usually, it's just noisy!) and no brands - especially characters.   It's not that we have it in for Diego and Dora, but we know it'll be tough to fight this one down the road, (imagines 5-year-old Gus having a tantrum because I won't buy Bob the Builder rain jacket, lunchbox, curtains, and cereal - and the box would be right at his eye level at Extra Foods because marketers are smart that way) and it would be nice to at least not start the battle this young and right at home.

Now, I know there are far worse things out there for a kid than Winnie-the-Pooh plastered on every piece of furniture, clothing and toy-thing imaginable in their room, but like I alluded to earlier, it's important to at least consider the possibilities.  Happy Reading.

Thanks everyone, for your comments and calls.  I've been feeling much better.  Yes, I still have a runny nose and the throat will surely be tested with my passel of grade 8s tomorrow, but I'm just *feeling* better.

Our weekend: Friday night we were over at some friends' place for dinner.  The S. family has 3 kids, the youngest is about 8 months older than Gus.  They are a rambunctious and adorable crew and I enjoy seeing Gus interact (read: flee from) other kids.  I know he's getting lots of interaction time at daycare, but it's fun to be able to see how he reacts to things.

Saturday was low key.  C. ran errands in the morning and then I went out to my favourite coffee shop for about 3 hours to mark, mark, mark.  Later, we made a few phone calls but no one could make it over for dinner, so I made 'big barn bowties' from the Rebar cookbook for just us.  (Pasta tossed with savoy cabbage, carrots, onions, sage, toasted walnuts, butter, basalmic vinegar and parmeasan (sp?) Oh yum.)  The evening consisted of even more marking but this time was accompanied with the satisfaction of completion.  I was also surprised by an ice cream treat from C. when he returned from his walk.  (I love living so close to Dairy Queen!)  So I enjoyed a cappuccino skor blizzard while we watched this week's offerings from This Hour Has 22 Minutes online.

Sunday morning, my husband very graciously was up at the crack of pre-dawn with Gus, who had no clue that this was the morning of day-light savings (or return from?) and could care less that the rest of the world was getting an extra hour of sleep, leaving me with some luxurious hours of sleep.  We had to adjust our church-going: Gus barely made it through last week's service so we had him take an early nap this time so he wouldn't be so cranky by the end of the service.  However, C. and I skipped Sunday School so he would get a decent rest.   This afternoon gave me time to chat on the phone (Hi, Mom!), finish my postcards that are due to be swapped tomorrow, and play with Gus-Gus.  We had even more cabbage for dinner (this time with perogies) and felt very good about it.  (Seriously, folks - cabbage is an amazing cancer-fighting good.  It's cheap, too.  Go eat some!)

And now C. is preparing his study for our care group/Bible study meeting on Tuesday so we can spend time with other friends who have graciously invited us over for dinner tomorrow night!  Me, I'm killing time here, but will soon be returning to my latest novel: Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs. (The TV series Bones is based on her writings.)  So far, so good.  I'll let you know when I'm done.

Enjoy your week.

Check out Friday 5!

  Do you own any type of gym equipment? When was the last time it was used?

            No.  Except my son – bicep builder.

·  What is something you collect?

            Used stamps from anywhere.  Pretty paper.  Good lesson plans.

·  Is there a fireplace in your home?

            No.  Not in my new home-to-be either.

·  What is something that you dislike about your home?

            Smallish dining room.  6 people feels like way too many.  And the fact that it soon won't be ours anymore.

·  Have you done any type of remodeling before?

            Um, don’t think so… unless painting my room in high school counts.

·  Which do you prefer, wallpaper or paint?

            Paint.  I think. Unless it’s cool wallpaper and I didn’t have to put it up.

·  How many phones are in your home?

            4.  I know – it’s absurd, but that’s just how it’s worked!

·  Carpeting , tiles, or hardwood floors?

            Hardwood up, carpet down.

·  When was the last time you washed windows and mirrors?

            Last week: had to get the house ready to sell!  Prior to that – probably a few months for mirrors and last year for windows.

·  Do you have few possessions, or are you a pack rat?

            I try to pare down… but when it comes to books and collaging stuff, pack rat extraordinaire.

          
·  Did you ever have a house guest who overstayed their welcome?

            Not that I can think of right now.  But I’ll be my husband could come up with an answer more quickly ;)

·  Do you own a record player, tape deck, Atari or some other vintage electronic device?

            We have a walkman that we use in the kitchen as our radio.  It’s attached to 2 small speakers that sit on top of our cupboards so we can listen to CBC when we’re in the kitchen, which is a lot.

·  Show us a before and after.

·  Show us something you made.

·  Show us your slippers.

I was thinking, since I like doing some of these fun internet things, I thought I'd share some of my fun lists/sites, etc. with y'all.  Feel free to comment here about them.

http://www.43things.com/person/Tryphaena

http://www.listsofbests.com/person/Tryphaena